


I'd Love You as Anyone

by phantasmalfawn



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-17 08:31:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5861710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantasmalfawn/pseuds/phantasmalfawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This started off adhering pretty strictly to Cinderella but in later chapters it seriously drifts, idk man</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pumpkin Carriage

"...I can't go?"

Adrien looked up at Nathalie from his lonely seat at the sleek black table. His dinner sat forgotten in front of him, soup and green salad meant to keep him slim for modeling. It was never enough to fill him anyway.

The woman shifted uncomfortably, casting her eyes downward to look over her schedule - anything to avoid meeting the gaze of the boy she was disappointing by proxy for the millionth time. Even she had more sympathy for Adrien than his father - then again, she spent much more time with him than Gabriel ever did, even if it was just to give Adrien his itinerary and go over it each morning. "...I'm sorry, you have an early photoshoot tomorrow. Mr. Agreste doesn't want you staying out so late and getting tired. Perhaps next year."  
She rested the tablet on the table beside his meal and excused herself hastily, leaving Adrien to scroll numbly through the schedule for the following day. Every year, the mayor held a charity ball to help with fundraising - an old-fashioned, black-tie gala in a proper ballroom that brought fairy tales to mind before anything else. It was the kind of event that Adrien would normally be forced into attending because of his father, but this year was different. Ladybug and Chat Noir were guests of honor, and he didn't care that it was just a publicity stunt for the mayor. It was worth it for a whole night of going off-leash and showing off as his feline alter-ego without worrying about fighting any akuma. It was worth it for a whole night with Ladybug. 

But Adrien Agreste wasn't allowed to attend, and without him there would be no Chat Noir, either. 

༼∩ຈل͜ຈ༽つ━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

In the bedroom nestled above a cozy bakery a few miles away, Marinette Dupain-Cheng had a very similar topic on her mind. The charity ball was a formal, high-class event, and she needed a formal, high-class garment to match. Unfortunately, schoolwork and akuma battles had teamed up on the poor girl, leaving her with only a few hours before the event to finish the dress she was stitching together so frantically. 

"You know, Marinette, you really should have practiced your dancing!" Tikki's high, clear voice rang out like a tiny bell as she zoomed around her charge, watching her work. "Travel by rooftop is one thing, but you can barely put one foot in front of the other on the ground!" Marinette was down to the final thread-snipping now, running the silky fabric between her fingers to feel for loose fibers. "I know that, Tikki, but I barely had time to finish the dress as it is! Besides, I'm sure nobody will actually ask me to dance. I'll probably be stuck chatting the whole night." Her kwami's face scrunched up slightly in concern, but she elected to do what little she could to help rather than making the girl worry over something that it was too late to fix. She clasped her tiny arms around a stray pin left on the bottom hem, drawing it out of the dress and lodging it back into the tomato-shaped pincushion where its pin-family was nestled. 

"Done!" Marinette leapt from her seat, pulling the finished garment along with her and taking a few moments to twirl around the room, holding it against her small frame. A quick transformation sequence later, Marinette was Ladybug, keeping her protective mask on even after she had switched out her bodysuit for the dress.  
It was Ladybug made formal. The dress was made of a deep red fabric that shimmered just slightly in the light, strapless with a small black band beneath the bust. It was formfitting from the torso down to the knees, but from there to the ground it draped loosely and elegantly, mermaid style. The bottom was a rick black that faded into the deep red, and a black clutch to hide Tikki in completed the outfit. Her shoes - simple black heels - were invisible from beneath the floor-length dress. Ladybug's mask, usually a mark of youthful secrecy when paired with her bodysuit, now seemed much more elegant and suited for a masquerade. 

༼∩ຈل͜ຈ༽つ━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

Adrien stood in his room, looking out the window at the ballroom that he could just barely make out a few blocks away, lit up and covered with decorations. He sighed - Ladybug was in there. She was expecting him to be, too. The ball would be the longest time he'd ever spent with her, outside of battle. Getting to know her, if she let him. But now she was going to be spending the whole night chatting politely with upper-class strangers, he knew she would be bored out of her mind. And...she'd also be dancing. It was a ball, after all. Dancing with someone who wasn't him. 

The longer he pictured a a faceless stranger by Ladybug's side - dancing, flirting, doing all the things he'd been daydreaming about since long before they'd been invited to the ball - the less he cared about his father's rules. 

"Plagg - " Adrien turned to his kwami, currently lounging on his desk in a small container that, a few minutes prior, had held cheese. "Claws out!" 

A flash of green light illuminated the trees outside of Adrien's room, and a few moments later Chat Noir was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, racing the warm Parisian breeze. His father wouldn't even notice he was gone, he never came into his son's room, and for once Adrien was thankful for that. A small bag was hooked over his shoulder, containing a dark grey tuxedo and a black tie that he'd taken from his closet to change into. Even if he was known for his carefree, casual attitude, showing up to a ball in a catsuit was a little much.

Chat Noir dropped down from the final rooftop into some hedges on the side of the building, concealed in shadow as began to have second thoughts. What was he thinking? Ladybug would never open up to him - every time he tried to bring up the topic of their alter egos, she was gone. Instantly. What would make this night any different? Trying to get closer to her would just push her away. And besides - she would never dance with Chat Noir. Even if he asked her in all seriousness, Ladybug would just write it off as more of the constant flirtation that she thought was meant to tease. And it was. Partly. If he really wanted to spend the evening getting to know her without layers of protective joking, Chat Noir wasn't going to do the trick. Nodding to himself, he pulled out his baton to call Ladybug. Unfortunately, something had come up, and Chat wouldn't be able to make it to the ball. But - on a completely unrelated note - Adrien Agreste would be there all night.


	2. Princess Charming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ship hell begins

Ladybug couldn't believe it - for once, she'd arrived before her partner. And she was on time. Chat was always the first one to events, while Ladybug was generally late because of some civilian alter-ego distraction. It was so out of character for him that she caught herself wondering if he was alright - what if there was an akuma? No, no, someone would have alerted her by now, everyone in the city knew where she was tonight.

Her increasingly worried thoughts were interrupted by an alert from her yoyo, still at her side even at the formal event. Ladybug ducked into a corner of the room, half-hidden behind a pillar so she could speak in relative peace. She switched the weapon to its phone function, though Chat was barely visible on the screen. "Chat Noir, where are you?! Are those leaves?" Ladybug looked down at the screen in confusion, and just a few yards away Chat grinned childishly, pushing the branches of the hedge out of sight, as much as he was able. "Sorry, my Lady - something's come up, I won't around to sweep you off your feet tonight." He noted with satisfaction and a faint flutter in his stomach that the look on her face when she'd answered the phone had been worry. She was thinking about him, too.

But the expression quickly faded when he gave her a suggestive raise of the eyebrows, turning into Ladybug's more customary look of amused exasperation. "Alright, kitty, I'll tell the Mayor you can't make it. Keep an eye out for akuma if you're in the area, though, alright?" Chat Noir grinned and gave her a quick nod before disconnecting the call.  
Any stragglers that were only just now entering the building might have seen the night's second flash of green light from behind the bushes, followed by a boy with a backpack running in to find a bathroom, making his third costume change in the last hour.

Ladybug stepped back out into the throng of well-dressed people, the fashion designer in her absolutely dazzled by all the sparkling designer dresses and perfectly tailored suits. Marinette was already enjoying the ball much more than Ladybug was ever going to. And, contrary to her partner's belief, she was disappointed that Chat wasn't going to make it. His constant, if sometimes inappropriate and exhausting jokes would make the whole night pass a lot faster. 

But then she spotted someone in the crowd who made her train of thought abandon Chat Noir completely. Adrien Agreste was standing near the front entrance, looking much more at home just walking into a formal event than Ladybug felt even after being there half an hour. Her heart stopped. This was an event was held by the mayor and filled with the elite, of course she should have known that the son of Paris' most respected fashion designer would be there! Ladybug had to stop herself from waving - unlike his classmate, there was no reason for the masked hero to recognize and greet him.

Adrien spotted Ladybug as soon as he stepped inside, and he had to press his fingers to his chin to make sure his jaw hadn't physically dropped. To him, Ladybug was breathtaking even in the midst of battle - sweating and red from exertion, hunched over in anticipation of an attack. To see her composed, smiling and wearing a shimmering gown was enough to speed up his heart, just from looking at her. He racked his brain for an excuse to talk to her, quickly remembering the time that Ladybug had saved him - Adrien, not Chat Noir - from the akumatized mime.

He made his way carefully through the crowd, avoiding anybody who looked as if they might be an acquaintance of his fathers' who would mention to Gabriel that he'd been there. Ladybug saw him drawing nearer, of course, although she pretended to be looking around the ballroom as a whole rather than having her eyes trained on the boy who was now only a few feet from her. 

When Marinette was around Adrien, she was too nervous to form a coherent sentence. When Chat Noir was around Ladybug, he rolled out line after cheesy, previously-rehearsed line. But now their roles were reversed. Ladybug's mask gaver her confidence, the same confidence that was now entirely absent from civilian Adrien Agreste. Ladybug was admittedly nervous when the boy stopped in front of her, and even more so when he prepared to speak, but on the outside she kept her composure, smiling cordially at him. Adrien, on the other hand, was making a mess of his words before they'd even left his mouth. "Ladybug...I'm - I mean, my name - "

His poor attempt at communication was cut mercifully short as the group of musicians off to the side, formerly playing soft, lingering orchestral music, began to play the much louder music of the ball's first dance. While most charity balls were really just glorified and well-catered meet-n-greets, the mayor's stayed true to its fairy tale-like atmosphere with dancing late into the night.

"...Would you like to dance?" The words were out of Adrien's mouth before he could catch them, and to his horror he found himself with his hand outstretched in invitation. He knew that Ladybug wasn't familiar with his civilian identity, and that his behavior at the moment deviated as far as possible from Chat Noir's snarky persona, but he couldn't help picturing Ladybug rolling her eyes and turning away all the same. 'Stop joking! We're guests of honor here, you have to act like it!' - her irritation was clear in his mind. 

"I'd love to." Adrien was yanked sharply from his cloud of anxiety by Ladybug's voice, and he looked at her, eyes a bit wide in surprise as pink blush dusted his face. Hers was the same - even with her boost in confidence, this was still Adrien Agreste asking her to dance. But she kept her composure, smiling and threading her slim, gloved fingers through his. "I'm not very good - but I'd love to."

Holy shit. Holy shit, Adrien was smiling at her. Adrien was holding her hand. Adrien had asked her to dance.

Ladybug had no idea how to dance.

Shit was no longer classified as holy - it had been reduced to a panicked expletive.

But she was Ladybug! If the girl could fake an average life while fighting crime on a weekly basis, she should be able to fake a few steps back and forth to music.  
A similar level of panic had seized Adrien's mind, but it didn't spring from lack of preparedness. His father had had him taking ballroom dancing classes for years, he was a pro. No, this was just what spurred from being in such close contact to the love of his life, and seeing her /smile fondly at him/, with - no, that couldn't possibly be blush on her face.

"My name is Adrien Agreste." He managed to speak as he led his lady down to the ballroom floor, amid other dancing couples who were all far less enthralled to be together than the two teenagers were. "My father is - " No. No, bad move. He shouldn't bring up his father at a time like this. But it was a stock response, Adrien was only used to being introduced as his father's son, not as himself. "Um, nevermind. You saved me once - from the mime? I never got to thank you for that, so...thanks." Smooth like sandpaper. 

He remembered - she did too, of course. Marinette held on to every memory of Adrien like a prized heirloom, and she found herself smiling, her normal habit of nervous speech beginning to bubble up in her throat. "Oh - haha, it's what I do! I mean, what Chat and I do, together. Not - not together like that, of course! As teammates." No romo.   
Her efforts at speech were encumbered further by the fact that Adrien had begun to slowly shift into dancing, keeping her hand held tight in his and placing the other timidly - painfully timidly - on her waist. It was hard to tell who was closer to spontaneous combustion at such intimate contact, but Ladybug reciprocated, moving her own free hand to rest lightly on his shoulder. "So...you and Chat Noir aren't a couple? You seem so close." Adrien looked at her, daring to smile slightly. But the expression was lost on Ladybug, who was too busy glancing down at their feet every other second to make sure she was mimicking Adrien's movement correctly and not stepping on his feet. 

"Chat and me? Absolutely not! He tries stuff like that all the time, but I know it's all teasing, he can't take anything seriously." She was half-distracted by the effort it took to dance, letting slip a bit more information than she'd meant to.

Adrien's shy grip on Ladybug stiffened as he listened to her, his anxious state obvious to anyone who wasn't already absorbed in trying not to trip over their own feet. She thought he was faking it. She thought he didn't like her that way, that he was just teasing. He made a mental note then and there to try and be a bit more serious around Ladybug - maybe then she'd take him more seriously in turn - but he knew even as the thought entered his mind that it would never actually happen. Chat was too carefree. And besides, it was obvious enough that she didn't like him the way he liked her - he shouldn't burden her with his feelings. 

Both of their grips on the other tightened simultaniously in surprise as a sudden flash of light was accompanied by several gasps. Against the right wall of the ballroom, where there were several chefs at work behind a row of buffet tables, a large grill had burst into flames. Ladybug instinctively pulled Adrien back and away from the danger, and he was caught off-guard enough to let her shift him, rather than moving to protect her instead. 

The smoke of the fire triggered the sprinklers overhead - which was, in fact, the extreme opposite of helpful. It was a grease fire, and the water only made it surge brighter, twice the size it had been before. Flames were spreading rapidly over rest of the table, consuming the linen and leaving smoldering ashes in its wake. Guests were now crowded against the wall furthest from the fire, many trying desperately to protect their clothing from the jets of water being spit from the ceiling.

"Excuse me!" Ladybug nodded to Adrien before pulling their hands apart, running and throwing her yo-yo into the air to summon her lucky charm. If she'd been watching, she would have seen Adrien reach out to her without thinking, acting out of his instinctive desire to hold her again. But Ladybug was preoccupied, catching a red and black-spotted blanket as it fell into her arms. She smiled, glancing to the table and then taking a running start right towards it. She used her weapon to swing up on to a lighting fixture above the table and unfurled the thick blanket, dropping it from overhead. The blanket settled onto the flames, choking out the oxygen and smothering them, also producing enough smoke to cast a thin cloud over the whole room. 

"Everyone, please move out to the gardens behind the building until this has been resolved!" The mayor waved his hands in the direction of the large glass doors at the rear of the ballroom. Guests filed towards the exit like obedient schoolchildren, Ladybug was suddenly faced with the dilemma of whether or not to seek Adrien out again. She didn't want to look too strange or too attached, since for all he knew it was the first time they'd met. But as she made her way to the door Ladybug felt a hand on her arm, looking over to see him at her side. 

Unfortunately, Adrien hadn't prepared any course of action past that. "That was, um...impressive of you!" He gave her a tentative smile, and she returned it encouragingly. "It was nothing! It's a shame about the ballroom, though...do you want to stay together outside?" Ladybug was impressed with herself, with how composed she was asking to spend time with him. 

Adrien looked as if he'd just been told he never had to do another photoshoot again. "Yes!" He grinned brightly, twisting his silver ring around his finger as a vent for his nerves. 

Was this a date? Hopefully. Oh, hopefully.


	3. Back to Mice and Pumpkins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> when i started writing this i wanted it to be a fluff bomb but. it is not.

Thankfully, it was a warm and clear night, with the combined light of the moon and the fairy lights strung up in the hedges providing just enough illumination to see. Dancing was a lost cause, but in light of the circumstances patrons were just as happy to stand and chat instead.

The gardens were enormous, with yard after yard of sprawling vines and flowers in every shade that must have made the water bill a nightmare to keep so vibrant. Ladybug had barely had time to take in the stunning, moonlit view before a very unwelcome beep sounded right underneath her ear. Her miraculous was going to run out in five minutes - and tonight, of all nights, when she was spending time with Adrien! Things were going so well between them - she wasn't willing to run away just yet.

"What's that sound?" Adrien feigned ignorance at the familiar beep and flash of her earrings - shouldn't she be running away about now? Nothing was more precious to her than keeping her identity a secret.

"Oh - i-it means I'm going to lose my costume soon. But there's still a bit of time - let's go in here!" Without really giving herself time to get anxious, Ladybug had grabbed Adrien's hand, leading him to an enormous and winding hedge maze strung with fairy lights. At least if she ran out of time in there, nobody would see her. She stopped a few turns in, not wanting to get too lost, and dropped her grip on Adrien's hand - but his fingers stayed wrapped around hers, unwilling to let go. She gave the other a questioning look, and he shrugged sheepishly. Ladybug's grip firmed again, and she gave a him a tentative smile in return. 

"Ladybug..." Adrien's voice caught in his throat. He was never going to get a better setup for confession than this. Warm night air, mood lighting, formalwear - but he couldn't do it as Adrien. As far as she knew, they'd only met twice. If he ever confessed to her, it had to be as Chat. As her partner, her best friend, the one she trusted with her life on a daily basis. Not a lovestruck stranger who could barely string together a sentence around her. "It must be wonderful spending so much time with you. Chat Noir is lucky." His cheeks were red as he looked down at their hands - how many times had they held hands before? Pulling each other away from danger on missions, leading her in the dark. But this was different, this was just for the sake of it, and that gave Adrien butterflies. 

Another trio of beeps filled the gap between words, and Ladybug was left with two spots on her earrings. She ignored it. "...Well, I'm happy I'm with you right now instead of him. You seem nice, Adrien, I'm glad we met." She smiled in a way that she hoped looked polite, rather than over the moon as she was. Adrien liked spending time with her - and he even seemed to be a bit jealous of Chat Noir! 

"I'm...not that great." Insecurity briefly trumped his nerves. He couldn't help it, something about Ladybug just brought out the most raw and genuine parts of him. And when he wasn't Chat, his most genuine emotions tended to be a little damaging. A lack of self-worth didn't even begin to cover it. "I'm sure there's a million people you'd rather be with right now. I mean - you're Ladybug. Everyone loves you." Everyone. He smiled weakly at her, then looked away.

Beep beep beep.

One spot. 

She had a minute left, but how could she leave him after he told her something like that? To run away without explanation would only solidify what he thought, her not caring about him. She couldn't do that, he looked so heartbroken already.

Without warning, Ladybug pulled Adrien towards her, wrapping her arms around his midsection and burying her face in his neck. He smelled soft and fragile, like flowers - maybe he'd been doing another perfume advertisement earlier that day. He stiffened up at the touch, and for one horrified moment Ladybug thought he'd be put off, he'd pull away. But seconds later Adrien all but fell against her, letting his eyes close as he put his arms around the love of his life. He poured so much into the hug - so much adoration, so much vulnerability, so much trust.

Adrien couldn't remember the last time that someone had hugged him - really hugged him. Nino gave side-hugs every so often and Chloe had a habit of hanging off of him, but real 'i'm holding you because i want you to feel safe and happy' hugs were hard to come by. And for Ladybug of all people to be doing it - he positively melted. 

Beep beep beep.

The final center spot on her earrings blinked a few times in warning before it disappeared entirely.

Ladybug's arms tightened around him, her whole body locking up as she realized how careless she'd been. "Keep your eyes closed." The soft whisper, nearly a beg, was all she could get out before pink light bubbled around her, floating upwards like carbonation in a magic-flavored soda, leaving Adrien clinging to Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

He'd obeyed - Adrien knew what was going to happen, he'd kept his eyes shut tight. Even burning curiosity about her civilian identity wasn't enough to make him break the moment, or his lady's trust. He wasn't ready to break the hug yet, either. He drew in a deep breath, embarrassed as he heard it shudder. He wasn't crying - not yet anyway - but the sudden emotional exertion was taking its toll.

And then Chloe Bourgeoise arrived. 

Of course the mayor's daughter would be at the ball he was holding - though she wasn't interested in chitchat, it was obvious from the cellphone she was waving around, looking for a signal so she could finish complaining to Sabrina about how the champagne color of her dress didn't match her gold earrings. 

She stopped, too shocked even to gasp when she saw the two of them standing there - Adrien clinging to Marinette as if his life depended on it, and Marinette with her face buried against his neck. Stunned and enraged, Chloe resorted to her primary defense mechanism - cruelty. "You're telling me they let you in? Let me guess - your family is catering, and you snuck away from work! Right, Marinette?" Her high-pitched laugh rang out, shattering the others' moment of sancturary into a million pieces that would be impossible to glue back together. 

Marinette moved to break the hug, but Adrien had already sprung away. The sound of Chloe's shrill, unwelcome voice wasn't enough to make him move, but the name had been.

Marinette.

His eyes were open now, staring down in shock at the girl whose secret identity had been ripped from her so carelessly - Chloe was already gone, dissatisfied with their lack of response to her remarks, off to find her signal. But to Adrien, it was like she'd never been there at all.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The sweet girl from his class who seemed to trip over her words every time they talked. The girl he'd been getting to know, little by little over the weeks. The girl who, apparently, he was in love with.

Adrien's expression may have conveyed his shock, but Marinette's was that plus horror. She'd worked so, so hard to keep her identity a secret over the years, and now of all people, Adrien knew who she was! Wordlessly she moved past him, her elbow bumping his as Marinette ran for the exit to the maze. She was still within earshot when he called for her to wait, but was too far gone to see his outstretched hand.


	4. "I need to see you"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where the Cinderella theme ends, but it's been replaced with LOADS OF HURT/COMFORT FLUFF which is my favorite flavor i hope u enjoy

Ladybug ran through the empty ballroom, grabbing one of the few cookies that hadn't been ruined by water or fire from the buffet table and handing it to Tikki, who in the absence of others was free to fly along at her side. "How could I let this happen, Tikki?! I was so, so stupid! I wasn't thinking, and now Adrien knows who I am! What if he tells everyone?!" Her face was red with a million emotions - embarrassment, fear, shock, guilt - and even in her formal gown and heels, she ran. Marinette ran and ran until she found herself in the middle of the park where Adrien had so many of his photoshoots, collapsing to sit on the edge of the fountain. Tikki rested on her shoulder, munching on the cookie to recharge. "You're not the first Ladybug to reveal her identity to someone, if it helps." Her tiny voice was calm for once, rather than energetic, consoling the girl who was currently hiding her face in her hands. "Especially not the first to make a reveal to the one you love, even if it was an accident!" 

Marinette didn't move from her slumped position until Tikki was finished eating, when she finally lifted her head and gave the kwami an apologetic pat on the head. "I'm sorry, Tikki, I don't want to tire you out - but I'm going to change into Ladybug again. I have to." Tikki smiled up at the girl, nodding understandingly. "Spots on!"

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Adrien, meanwhile, had barely moved a muscle since Marinette ran past him. He was still trying to process the fact that he spent every single day sitting in front of the love of his life and didn't even know it. He needed to go home. There was nothing here for him, now that Ladybug was gone, and the last thing that Adrien wanted to do at the moment was pretend to enjoy smalltalk. Moments later he'd switched out his tuxedo for wedge boots and cat ears - clothing he felt much more comfortable in anyway - and was traveling by rooftop to his house again. 

But an alert from his baton caught him off-guard - Ladybug was calling him? It had to be an akuma attack, there was no other reason he could imagine, especially at a time like this. Shit. He had to act normal. Taking a seat on the edge of a hotel roof, he switched his weapon to its phone function, grinning broadly at the screen. "How's the ball going, my lady? Did you call because you need someone to dance with?" Yep, he was being his normal, flirtatious self - but Ladybug certainly wasn't. 

Even in the dim light, he could tell she was visibly shaken - it made sense. "Hey, Chat - will you meet me on the roof of the Dupain-Cheng bakery? Please? There's no akuma or anything, just...please." His mischevious smile dropped, quickly replaced by one that he hoped looked comforting. "Anything for you - I'll be right there." He hung up, taking a moment to point himself in the direction of the bakery - Marinette's house, he reminded himself - before taking off again. He had no idea why she'd want to talk to him at a time like this, since it seemed like all he ever managed to do was irritate her as Chat Noir, but it didn't matter what the reason was. If she called for him, he would come running. 

Ladybug was once again clad in her red and black suit, the familiar yet mysterious fabric feeling much more comforting than the formal dress had. Her eyes were locked on the horizon, squinting out at the dark rooftops and trying to make out Chat Noir's figure from her perch on the balcony railing. Was it risky, asking him to meet her at her own house after what had happened with Adrien? She didn't care. She just needed to confide in someone. Normally she and Chat never met up outside of crime fighting and the occasional promotional event, but she couldn't exactly call Alya and tell her why she was upset. 

Ladybug's shoulders slumped in relief as she heard a thump behind her, Chat Noir's silky voice filling the night air. "You sounded worried." He didn't prompt her to give him an explanation, he didn't need one. But at the sound of his voice, Ladybug slid off of the railing, letting herself collapse wordlessly into Chat's arms. It was her turn to pour her emotions into the hug, and his turn to be her support. It was rare for Ladybug to show him any sign of weakness, so at first Chat was frozen in surprise. He was silent for a few moments, until he heard something he had never, ever wanted to. Ladybug was sniffling - crying. Chat's hands hovered hesitantly over her back for a moment before settling on it, holding her in return, and he soon found himself lowering both of them gently to the ground, sitting crosslegged and lifting Ladybug to sit curled in his lap. She didn't resist, just locked her arms around his neck, keeping her face hidden from him. 

Chat Noir's head was spinning - partially from the night's earlier revelation, but partially from this as well. Ladybug had come to him for comfort. Ladybug had pleaded with him to come meet her, and was now curled in his lap because she was upset and /wanted to see him/. 

"...I messed up, Chat. Really badly." She mumbled softly against his chest, shifting her head to look up at him with gorgeous yet heartbreaking tear-stained eyes. "I...someone knows who I am. Someone who definitely shouldn't know." Chat Noir forced his eyes to widen a bit, hopefully seeming surprised. He ran his gloved thumb along her cheek to wipe her tears, then allowed the same hand to slowly move to the back of her head, beginning to stroke Ladybug's hair tentatively. At her lack of resistance, he continued, letting her hair down from her signature pigtails and running his fingers slowly through it. 

"...Who is it? Can you tell me?" He muttered softly - Chat didn't know why he was asking her to tell him something he already knew so clearly. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He knew it was in part because he wanted to find out what Ladybug thought of Adrien. 

She was silent for a few moments, just long enough that Chat was already kicking himself for asking in the first place, but then she answered. "...It's...the boy I like. His name is Adrien, you've probably seen him on posters around town." She curled herself up smaller, leaning into him and sniffling once more. 

Lucky for Chat that Ladybug's eyes were hidden from him, so she couldn't see the expression on his face. It was complete and utter shock, mixed in with beet-red blush. He'd always gotten the feeling that Marinette was shy around him more than anyone else, but to know that she had a crush on him - and that she was Ladybug - that /Ladybug had a crush on him/....

"It's alright." He shook his head slightly to clear it, but that didn't stop the rapid beating of his overworked heart. Comforting the girl in his arms was top priority right now, he could lose his mind later. Her own reaction had been so severe that she was surprised at his lack of one. 

"You're not upset?" She wiped her eyes hurriedly as more warm tears threatened to blur her vision. Chat grinned, still combing his fingers through her silky hair. "I admit I'm a little jealous. Someone out there has your heart /and/ knows your identity. Lucky guy." He grinned playfully at her, and Ladybug managed a small smile in response. It bolstered his confidence just enough to smile wider. "I know you think this is bad, but I promise - it's not a cat-astrophe. Mew'll get through this." 

Ladybug couldn't help it - the sight of his smile, so eager for her reaction to his godawful puns was so warm and familiar that she laughed, and Chat's shoulders sagged in relief. "Seriously - it'll be alright. I'll pay this guy a visit and make sure he knows not to blab, okay?" His partner sprang up at that, and his first instinct was to pull her back into his lap again and hold her longer. But he resisted the urge, standing up next to her instead. "Absolutely not, this is embarrassing enough as it is!" Her voice was loud, but not angry. It was the playful tone she often took with him, and Chat allowed himself mentally to take credit for cheering her up. He grinned and shrugged. "You sure this guy doesn't need some roughing up? I could keep him quiet! I'm pretty intimidating, as I'm sure you've noticed." Chat grinned and gave an exaggerated flex. Okay, maybe he was joking and peacocking a bit more than usual, but it was keeping Ladybug happy and that was all that mattered.

She snorted at that - the idea of him being intimidating was ridiculous, and both of them knew it. "Go on home, Chat Noir, I'm fine. I'll see you soon, okay?" It was obvious that he was hesitant to leave her alone, given how she'd been sobbing into him mere minutes earlier. But he nodded reluctantly. Before he left, though, Chat put his hands on Ladybug's shoulders, drawing her closer to him and pressing his lips to her forehead. It was brief, and not at all romantically charged - just a simple message of 'feel better soon, I'm worried about you' in the form of a kiss. He hopped up onto the railing, then off into the night before she had a chance to respond. Ladybug found herself gazing for a few minutes at the spot where he'd disappeared from her sight before slowly making her way inside and detransforming. There was nothing she wanted more in the current moment than to sleep the whole night off. A few hours unconscious was a luxury that she was very, very ready to indulge in.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Adrien, however, now back in his bedroom, was over the moon. Seeing Ladybug cry had broken his heart, but reliving the whole night over and over again in his head quickly brought his spirits up. As soon as he detransformed, Plagg tumbled out of the ring and was buzzing around the other's head, looking impatient. "Twice in one night - twice with /no cheese in between/, Adrien! I could have died of starvation!" He couldn't have, but Adrien was in too good of a mood to squabble. Instead he pulled a generous serving of Wendsleydale cheese from the mini-fridge in his bedroom (cheese was the only thing that was ever inside), giving it to the kwami and flopping down onto his bed. 

"She's in my class, Plagg. We've known each other this whole time! And - and she has a crush on me! Marinette - Ladybug - has a crush on me." His face was beet red just thinking about it. He was a bundle of nerves, overthinking things already. "But - she doesn't like Chat Noir. She thinks that he's just a flirt. That I'm just a flirt." Adrien rolled over onto his back, running a hand through his hair. Plagg sat on his desk, hard at work devouring the cheese, thoroughly disinterested in the other's angst. "But I'm at my most natural when I'm Chat! This..." Adrien gestured down at his daily clothing. "This is so fake. 'Yes sir', 'thank you ma'am', 'no, it's not an inconvenience'...so if she ever found out who I was...would she stop liking Adrien? Or would she start liking Chat Noir?" 

He sat up, hands gripping the edge of his bed as he looked at his kwami. He was more thinking out loud than having a conversation with Plagg, but he directed his speech towards him anyway. "I can change! I can make Chat more like Adrien, it's not like it's a hard persona to keep up...if it's for her, I can change." Normally, Plagg let Adrien make desicions for himself, rarely weighing in like Tikki so often did. But even he could recognize a plain shitty idea when he heard one. "...So, what? You're going to woo Ladybug with your manners, marry her and then keep up the good boy charade for the rest of your life?" It wasn't that Chat Noir's personality was real and Adrien's was fake - Chat was just what allowed him to let loose and be a little more carefree, without worrying about his father's rules. Neither extreme would be sustainable without intermissions from the other, but combining them both was impossible when he had two vastly different public images to maintain. 

Adrien sank at Plagg's words, pulling his pajamas from their careful placement in a pile on the floor and getting ready for bed. "Okay, fine, you're right. If I want to get close to her, I have to be honest. 100% myself - and there's only one way to do that. She's got to know me - both sides." Plagg looked at him in surprise, but Adrien was already curled up in bed, trying to get his heart to slow enough that he could sleep.


	5. Panicked Lies and Nervous Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus! I have around two more chapters' worth of material stockpiled right now so there should be more soon!

Sitting behind Adrien at school the following morning was torture. Marinette couldn't even bring herself to look at him for fear of reliving the previous nights' events. Alya was quick to notice that something was up, nudging her best friend and giving her a strange look. "What's up? You haven't looked at Adrien once today, normally you can't take your eyes off of him!" Marinette jumped at the sudden, and very unwelcome question, tugging at her shirt collar nervously. "Oh - I'm just, um, not feeling too well. A little under the weather." 

Adrien tensed at the sound of her voice. On a normal day he wouldn't have heard her whisper at all, but he was so /aware/ of Marinette now, aware of her proximity to him and the voice that he should have been able to recognize anywhere. Nino nudged him, looking at his best friend with the same concern that Alya had a row behind them. "Hey, you don't look so hot. Well - your face does look pretty warm, actually. Fever?" Adrien pressed an unaware hand to his cheek - yep, he was blushing, and probably had been all morning. 

Marinette was thankful for the distraction when their teacher began to write on the board, opening up her notebook to copy down the bullet points. But her hands were shaking - for obvious reasons - and she dropped her pencil, biting back a curse as it rolled forward, onto the floor and out of her reach. 

Adrien saw the pencil roll into his peripheral vision, instinctively leaning over to pick it up, and turning around to see who'd dropped it at just the same moment that Marinette leaned forward to try and reach it. The final result was their faces mere inches apart, both red. Marinette's eyes widened, and Adrien's breath caught in his throat as he wordlessly put the pencil on her desk. He turned around to face the front again, and at Nino's confused look, Adrien buried his face in his arms. 

Alya quirked an eyebrow - Marinette, flustered around Adrien? Normal. Adrien, flustered around Marinette? Not so much. She nudged the other, giving her a look. "And I suppose Adrien's feeling 'under the weather' too? You're dishing as soon as we get out of school!"

"That's if I even make it to the end of the school day." Marinette murmured under her breath, unconsciously copying Adrien's position by hiding her face in her folded arms. She normally considered being in the same room as Adrien all day a blessing, but it was seeming more and more like a malicious curse withe every passing moment of the day. Through French, physics, and even design - normally the highlight of her day - Marinette was a wreck, she could barely bring herself to pay attention to the lessons.

Adrien wasn't much better. Knowing he sat mere feet from the love of his life every day was a lot to take in, and it took all he had in him to keep from looking over at her every minute of the day. He did allow himself a few glances, though, and realized with resigned disappointment that she never looked at him a single time. In reality, she was just too embarrassed to face him, but in Adrien's mind her lack of glances meant that she was upset with him for finding out her secret. His heart dropped into his stomach with the realization that Marinette - Ladybug - probably hated him now. Why wouldn't she? There was nothing more important to her than guarding her identity, and he was the one who found out about it completely against her will. At least she didn't hate Chat Noir.

Not yet, anyway. Adrien was still resolute in his plan to reveal his own secret identity to her - an eye for an eye, a secret for a secret, he had to keep reminding himself of that.  
"...Adrien?" Nino's voice made him jump, and Adrien quickly came back down to earth with the revelation that he'd been staring at Marinette - or the back of her head, rather - the whole time he'd been lost in thought. "This weirdness doesn't have anything to do with Marinette, does it..?" Nino's tone made it clear that he knew his friend's strange behavior in fact had everything to do with Marinette. "I mean, she's cute and all, but you've barely ever even looked at her before today."

He was right - before the last few weeks when they'd been getting to know each other, first through the Kung Food incident, then the gaming tournament, the zoo - Marinette never crossed his mind at all. Sure, she was cute, and always kind...and supportive...and always stood up for people in trouble....

Adrien came to the sobering realization that the only reason he hadn't seen the Ladybug in her before this was because he hadn't been looking at her at all. If he'd just paid more attention, there was no way he'd have missed all the clues. Adrien shrugged off Nino's concern, giving him a small smile. "I guess this is just the first time I'm really seeing her."  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Whatever forces of the universe granted Ladybug her lucky charm clearly didn't care much for Marinette, because she wasn't able to escape the school building that afternoon before being intercepted by Alya. Another girl less occupied with constant scoop-hunting might have forgotten about her friend's strange behavior, but Alya Cesaire couldn't be more of a snoop even if she were a trenchcoat-clad private eye hiring herself out to damsels in distress in the shady part of the city. Marinette had been able to make it as far as the bottom of the front steps before she felt a hand on the back of her jacket collar, and saw an eager face appear in front of her. 

"So! Care to tell me what happened between you and the boy of your dreams?" Alya held her phone out to Marinette so she could see that, for once, it wasn't set to record. Anything she said would be held in confidence. Just thinking about the previous night - not that she'd ever confess the truth, even to Alya - had Marinette blushing all over again. She sighed in defeat, grabbing her best friend's arm and pulling her over to stand near the bushes in the grass where they were at least a bit out of sight. She wasn't the best liar - probably placed much closer to worst, actually - but maybe her red face and sudden stutter would be attributed to thinking about her crush. "Right! So, um, last night....A-Adrien and I - no, I mean, we were - " Marinette groaned in frustration, running a hand through her bangs. "W-We kissed! Yesterday - Adrien and I!" 

Alya's jaw dropped, and who could blame her? She grabbed Marinette's shoulders, squeezing tight as she broke into an enormous grin of delight and disbelief. "You /what/?! Oh my god, I'm gonna kill you! Does anyone else know? I can't believe this is something I had to drag out of you, you should have been texting me /while your lips were on his/!" The initial tidal wave of shock crashed against the shore and receded into an ocean of excitement, and Alya dropped her best friend's shoulders again in favor of crossing her arms, still smiling broadly. "And now you're gonna tell me everything, obviously." 

"Right...obviously." Marinette returned the smile, though hers was more obviously uncomfortable, and she rubbed the back of her neck nervously. The poor girl had barely been able to think of an explanation at all, how was she going to come up with a whole story to go with it? Well, maybe it would be safest to stick as close to the truth as possible. Thinking back to the previous night, she remembered Chloe's taunt. "...My parents were caterers at the charity ball last night. Adrien was there, and we danced, and, um..." She raised her shoulders in an awkward shrug. "...We kissed. Just once! And it was short, nothing super exciting!!" 

Out of the corner of her eye Marinette caught sight of Adrien walking out of the building. His attempts at friend-dodging had been more successful than hers, as Nino was nowhere in sight. Too bad Alya wasn't shy around Adrien too, Marinette was positive she'd pressure him into more details about the kiss. The kiss that hadn't actually happened. Words began tumbling out of Marinette's mouth so quickly that they tripped over each other along the way - "There he is! I-I should go him to talk. Uh, talk to him! Y-You know, now that I might actually have a shot. Gotta reel him in! Wish me luck!" She didn't give Alya the luxury of a single second between words to respond before she ran after Adrien, who had made the tensest walk of his life past the two of them and was now at the bottom of the stairs. 

"I need to talk to you!" Marinette grabbed his arm, surprising even herself with her boldness. Adrien followed wordlessly - half out of surprise, half out of awe as he studied her so very Ladybuggish mannerisms - as she pulled him back behind the school, to a secluded sprawl of grass where no one ever came. It was safe to talk there. Safe, but not easy. Her eyes were trained on the grass between their feet as her volcano of unplanned words threatened to erupt once again. "I-I told Alya I kissed you. I'm sorry, but she was asking why you were acting so strange in class and it was all I could think of and I panicked and - " 

A hand on her shoulder brought Marinette's words to a stuttering halt. "...Marinette, I don't want to lie to you. I won't do it." She looked up at him in confusion. His tone wasn't what she'd expected. It was low, quiet - nervous. Even if it wasn't her shaking, rambling brand of nervousness, she could tell what he was feeling. That was what came of studying his face every single day. "Even if it was accidental - what happened yesterday was awful and invasive and I feel like you're never going to be comfortable around me again. Not unless I do this." He twisted the silver ring around his finger nervously, inhaling and pausing a moment before speaking. "Plagg - "

A shrill cry interrupted him, causing both to turn their heads and look for the source. They were just able to make out a girl floating in the sky a few blocks away, above the park. She was clad in a black bodysuit and was suspended in the middle of what seemed like a dark gray raincloud. Marinette bit the inside of her cheek, looking back to Adrien and furrowing her brow apologetically, conveying that whatever he had to say to her would have to wait until later. Understanding her even without words, Adrien nodded, taking his hand that had been raised in preparation to transform and curling it resignedly against his chest. 

Neither of them had ever been so simultaneously upset and relieved to see a new akuma.


	6. Good Kitty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fight scenes are boring im sorry

At the sight of the akuma, Marinette adopted her battle stance, feet apart and fists up, looking over to Adrien with a burst of confidence that had been nowhere to be found the minute before. "Sorry - your secret will have to wait til later. I've got to take care of this! Tikki, spots on!" The kwami rushed out of her purse, and Adrien could do nothing but look on slack-jawed as shy, fumbling Marinette was transformed into the love of his life within seconds. Even if he knew her identity, seeing her shift right in front of him was still enough to catch him off guard. And Marinette would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the opportunity to show off in front of him. 

She was off before Adrien could even think up a response, tumbling through the air like an acrobat without a tightrope, making her way to the akuma. A pinch from inside his jacket reminded the starstruck boy that he had a job to do, too. 

A dreary smog was choking half the buildings surrounding the park by the time Chat Noir arrived on the scene, halting by Ladybug's side. "You seem in a better mood today, my dear." He grinned playfully, looking over at her - anything to hide his nerves. Even if he hadn't actually managed to reveal his identity, just being prepared to do it made him feel so terribly vulnerable. Ladybug looked to her partner, smiling in return. Just seeing his face put her so much more at ease, she was surprised. "Everything looks better the day after. And the outcome could have been a lot wor - look out!" Ladybug leapt forward, wrapping her arms around Chat's torso and bringing them both to the ground just as something about the size and shape of a baseball hit the patch of grass where he'd been standing moments earlier, erupting in a cloud of thick gray smog. "Be careful!" She chastised him, but it was clear that Ladybug was much more stable than she'd been the night before. 

The akuma who had launched the projectile alighted on the ground in front of the duo, another sphere forming at the palm of her glove moments after the first had been thrown. "What a day...now even the supposed heroes are teaming up against me." She brushed thick black curls out of her face, looking down at them with what seemed like a combination of anger and disappointment. Usually akuma were in constant motion, yelling and leaping around, but this one seemed as if she was struggling just to stay on her feet. 

"Do you have any idea how it feels to be exhausted every day of your life? Do you know how it feels to see so clearly that no one cares? Well, I don't need them! All I need is energy. Now everyone is going to feel as miserable as I do!"

The akuma raised the second smoke bomb, and as she threw it Chat and Ladybug leapt away, each in a different direction. They ran for cover behind trees as the attack hit the ground, erupting into another ineffective barrage of gray. 

"Do you see how her bracelet is glowing? That must be where the akuma is!" Ladybug called out to her partner from her hiding place, nodding indicatively to the girl who had apparently lost interest in the two of them and was once again in the air, scanning the city for easier targets. 

Akuma attacks were so commonplace that, while the immediate vicinity was generally cleared of passersby, nearby streets and shops still functioned as normal, and some people even gathered there just to watch Ladybug and Chat Noir fight. That meant the akumatized girl had plenty of victims to choose from. Realizing she was going to start attacking civilians, Ladybug took a running start towards the akuma and threw her yoyo in the air, wrapping it tight around the other's waist while Chat ran to herd away any people nearby.  
Ladybug braced herself against the ground and yanked hard on the cord of her yoyo, jerking the unsuspecting girl a few yards down towards the ground and throwing off the aim of her current attack significantly. But, even if it didn't land where she'd originally intended, the akuma grinned in delight as it found a target.

The projectile hit Chat square in the back, knocking him onto his knees as the grey cloud surrounded and sank into him, permeating his suit. In its place, a soft light was pulled from him, then sucked into the akumatized girl's bracelet like water down a drain. Ladybug stared in horror as his bright green eyes, always full of life, sank to a dull sage color. He looked up at his partner, seeming for all the world as if he wanted to speak, to yell at her to run, to do /something/, but not being able to summon the energy to open his mouth. His body felt like it had grown a hundred times heavier, and it was taking the full force of his will just to stay on his knees. Ladybug dropped the string of her yo-yo, unintentionally freeing the akuma - not that they were even a priority right now. She knelt in front of Chat, putting her hands on his shoulders and then switching to cup his face. "Chat! Oh, my god - are you awake? Can you understand me?" Ladybug looked at him frantically, running her fingers through his hair, but it was like he'd been shot with a tranquilizer. "Tell me what you did to him!" Ladybug demanded of the akuma, who had since recovered her position in the sky. 

It was clear that the akuma was now feeling much more energetic, and a malicious grin spread across her face, looking much more like the rest of Hawkmoth's victims now. She landed on the street in front of where Chat had fallen, the whole block now cleared of anyone besides the three of him. "How does it feel, kitty? To feel as if by simply existing you're fighting a losing battle?" She put a hand over her mouth, giggling theatrically, and Ladybug's hands balled into fists so tight she made four crescent dents in each of her palms.

"I'm the only one who can call him that." Ladybug's voice was uncharacteristically monotone, level - dangerous. She rose to her feet, stepping protectively between the akumatized girl and Chat Noir. Taken aback by the sudden change in Ladybug's demeanor, the other took an involuntary step away, summoning another energy-sapping attack and hurling it at her opponent. Her yo-yo lay yards away where she'd dropped it, so she pulled Chat Noir's baton off his belt and used it like a bat to strike away the projectile. It wasn't even enough to be considered a distraction, not when Ladybug's mind was so completely bent on destroying this girl. Her akuma. Whatever. 

"I'm the only one who gets to call him Kitty." She repeated, in the same deadpan but utterly terrifying tone. Even Ladybug herself didn't know why this particular akuma had managed to rub her so much the wrong way. Maybe it was a combination of everything - Chat being attacked, coping with having her identity revealed, and especially hearing the girl who'd hurt her partner calling him by that name. That stupid nickname that he loved so much. Hearing his partner call him 'kitty' always made Chat's eyes light up - and if she hadn't been so distracted, Ladybug would realize how much she hated the thought of someone else having that effect on him.

The akuma seemed to have regained her confidence, putting her hands on her hips and picking up a taunting tone. "Don't waste your energy! I'm about to take it from you, and I expect quite a bit from a superhero!" She smiled teasingly and brought out her attack yet again, but before she could move to throw it Ladybug had leaped forward and grabbed her opponent's shoulders, bringing them both forcefully to the ground.

The other girl hadn't been expecting that. Maybe because she was holding such a dangerous weapon, or maybe because direct physical violence wasn't typically Ladybug's technique. The hero in question pinned down the akuma's attack arm, using her spare one to slip the bracelet off her wrist. She threw it to land on the ground beside her yo-yo, where it broke on impact.

Ladybug let the now-powerless akuma up, walking to her yo-yo to pick it up and purify the deep purple butterfly that had arisen from the bracelet. "Bye-bye, little butterfly." She spoke softly, briefly glancing down to the former villain. The victim of the akuma was revealed to be a very short, chubby girl with olive skin and curly black hair in a sloppy bun, someone who Ladybug vaguely recalled seeing around school sometimes. Even if the poor thing didn't remember a single second of what had happened, Ladybug felt suddenly guilty for how hostile she'd been. She was just a normal girl, scared and apparently very, very tired. The reason Ladybug rarely showed real hostility to akuma victims was because she knew they were just that - victims. 

"Go home and get some rest." She nodded to the girl, offering a small and strained smile, and the other nodded hastily before getting up and hurrying away.   
She brushed her palms together to dust them off, turning back to look at her partner. "I'm not really up for patrol tonight, I think I'll..." Ladybug stopped in her tracks. "...Chat?"   
He hadn't gone back to normal. Precisely the opposite, Chat Noir was kneeling and staring up at her with dull eyes, absolutely overtaken by exhaustion. Ladybug tensed as she realized that, in her haste to avenge him, she hadn't used her lucky charm. The akuma itself was purified and that meant that the magical aspects of her attack had disintegrated, but the physical effects had remained. 

"Chat..." Ladybug knelt beside him, and he seemed to take it as a sign that it was finally alright to give up. He collapsed against her, eyes rolling shut instantly, and Ladybug struggled not to tip over with the sudden weight on her. She checked over Chat's sleeping form for any signs of greater injury - thankfully, he was fine aside from his energy being completely depleted. She smiled slightly, looking down at him and running her fingers through his hair. He looked so different when he was asleep - calm, maybe even sweet.

Ladybug leaned in close, kissing his forehead just like he'd done for her the previous night. She hesitated a moment before pulling away, lowering her voice to a whisper even though there was no one anywhere nearby to hear.

"...Good kitty."


End file.
